'Great food, great company at Aunt Stephie's'

For many Ionia residents, going to Aunt Stephie's for breakfast or lunch has become a routine in the short time since the business opened its doors on Main Street.

Mattie Cookmattie.cook@sentinel-standard.com

For many Ionia residents, going to Aunt Stephie's for breakfast or lunch has become a routine in the short time since the business opened its doors on Main Street.
Three such individuals are Kathy and Bud Bollinger and Cliff Allen of Ionia.
“Great food, great company at Aunt Stephie's. We've been coming here for a while,” said Kathy Bollinger.
With the aroma of freshly baked cinnamon rolls and homemade pots of soup, Aunt Stephie's offers something for everyone.
“I like the atmosphere and the food. I also like seeing my neighbors at Aunt Stephie's,” Allen said.
Stephanie Nemeth, owner of Aunt Stephie's, serves up a wide variety of items for lunch and breakfast Mondays through Fridays.
Their breakfast menu, which ranges in price from $1.50 to $5.50, offers food such as toast, oatmeal, eggs, cinnamon rolls, sausage and gravy biscuits and stuffed burritos.
For lunch, a variety of soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers are available. Each week, specials are offered that highlight a special meal or item for customers; Nemeth is no stranger to asking customers what specials they want to see on the menu for the next week.
For Jerry and Jill Renucci, Aunt Stephie's is “just what Ionia needed.”
“I like everything I've had down here, but like the reuben special most of all,” Jerry Renucci said.
The bruschetta grilled cheese is Jill Renucci's favorite item on the Aunt Stephie's menu.
Aunt Stephie's kid's menu has many children's favorites, including macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and grilled cheese. Each item for children is named after a special child in Nemeth's life, and ranges in price from $3.50 to $4.50.
With longtime friends and family working alongside Nemeth in the restaurant, the staff have created close-knit relationships amongst themselves and with customers.
“We're really a family business, and we have close connections with our eaters,” Nemeth said.
Carolyn and Stan Krycinski of Ionia agree that Aunt Stephie's provides both good food and company.
“We just really love the friendly, small town atmosphere here,” said Carolyn Krycinski.
The staff at Aunt Stephie's includes Nemeth, as well as Lori Daniels, Julie Killion, Kitty Cole and Nicholas Rendall.
“Working here is fun and the food is great. There's nobody else in town with her menu. We're like family here,” Daniels said.
According to Killion, on the first day Aunt Stephie's was open for business, the cooks had more than 25 orders placed within minutes.
“The people didn't trickle in, they trampled in. It wasn't easy that first day,” said Daniels.
After that, former Kitty's Cafe owner, Cole, was hired to assist with orders during Aunt Stephie's busiest hours.
“Having Kitty here is a blessing. So many customers are so happy to see her and she's happy to see them,” Nemeth said.
Nemeth strives to create connections with each person who walks in the doors of her restaurant, but the communication between her and customers doesn't end there.
Each Sunday, for instance, Nemeth posts the weekly specials at Aunt Stephie's on the business's Facebook page, “Aunt Stephie's.” For those who are not on Facebook, Nemeth calls and informs them of the specials each day.
For Nemeth, providing homemade food for her customers has come after years of wishing a similar business existed in Ionia.
“When my kids were young and active in everything, I wished that I had had a place where I could go and buy fresh, homemade soups for my kids because I wanted to feed them fresh, homemade food, but I didn't always have the time to make it,” said Nemeth.
At any given time, Nemeth keeps her cooler stocked with four to six varieties of homemade soups that people can come in and buy.
Aunt Stephie's is located at 219 W. Main St. and is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.
For more information on Aunt Stephie's business, menu and more, visit www.aunt-stephies.com
Follow Mattie Cook on Twitter @ISSMattie.

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